


Shield of Faith

by Irena31



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 23:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7661386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irena31/pseuds/Irena31
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were never meant to be friends. They were never meant to understand each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shield of Faith

_I can’t be touched. I see my foes approach, humbled by my protection, indignant at my defiance. I hope for another miracle. ___

How can someone be so morally pure, so ethically clean after having witnessed nothing but rejection, loss, and shame?

He’s bland they say. He’s a leader who can’t risk his comrades. He's a hero without the stability. He’s bound-to his shield, to his friends, to his world.

His time-Well, that no longer exists.

He is stoic because that’s what they made him out to be. He’s humble because that’s who he is. He’s silent because he knows his voice will not be heard. He speaks up because no one else will. 

Stark...he’s a sickness. He’s a funnel of greed, of the impossible. He is filtered by years of education, of years of tinkering and fooling and messing. 

He smudges and he flirts and he laughs.

Steve...he’s a soldier. He’s a sandbox of nostalgia, of lost times, of lost love. He is born with a filter- he knows some things are impossible. He becomes adept at following orders because he knows giving them is impossible.

He salutes and he humbles and he laughs.

They meet. Soldier’s garb meets bespoke cuffs. Mask meets glasses. Shield meets suit. 

He knows him. Of course. Had his father not regaled over the legend of Steve Rogers, he would have still heard worn stories about the man trussed up in an American flag, forcing the Nazis impossibly away from his country. 

The other knows him as well. Of course. Had he not been thrust into this new world, bereft of news and media, he would’ve known more about Tony Stark, the rich, eccentric inventor who proudly donned the Iron Man insignia. He had seen Stark Tower, built impossibly high in the sky, filled with heroes and guardians.

Heroes. He had wished to be a guardian, a seemingly unnecessary protector during placid times. No, he was meant to be a hero. Everyone knew it. Stark knew it.

Perhaps that’s all Tony saw him for. A man who needed to act as a hero even if time didn’t call for it. A man who needed history to rewrite itself, to drudge up memories of banners and Nazi-fueled propaganda. A man who couldn’t live without a war.

War.

Could Tony not see? Could he not witness how happy he would be without fighting? No.

Tony resented how cooly Cap could refuse the accords. He imagined the ample expanse of Steve’s mind, where a spinner stood with an emblazoned arrow. One side said War. The other said Civil Conflict. He gritted his teeth. Cap would do well to mind him instead of flashing remnants of a grin as he carelessly refused Tony’s offer. He was a jumped-up little kid...No, Parker was a kid. You could handle kids. Give a few toys, pat them on the head, warn the city police. But Steve...he was an adult whose morals had been tampered with childish idealism and worry. _The greater good, Steve. You don’t get it. _Tony rested his head. _I'm glad you don't. _____

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my story! This is my first fanfic, but luckily I've been inspired by such great stories on this site. Please leave any comments! I'd love to hear them.


End file.
